May 9 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at a crossing in Texas seized 113 grams of fentanyl earlier this week. Officials said the drugs allegedly were hidden in the vagina of a 40-year-old U.S. citizen.
Border patrol officials said the pedestrian border crosser was detained on Wednesday at the international crossing in El Paso.
“This is an exceptionally dangerous practice and could be lethal if the packaging were to fail during transport,” said CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio. “It is best to not engage in smuggling activity, but especially this form. It is risky on many levels.”
According to federal officials, border agents selected the woman for a secondary exam just before 3 a.m. During the inspection, officials said, the woman told officers she had a foreign object concealed inside her.
Agents took the woman to a medical facility, where an exam confirmed the presence of a concealed object inside the woman, officials said, adding that the alleged package of drugs was removed from the woman’s vagina.
According to officials, the woman then was returned to the port of entry, where she was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security. She faces federal charges associated with the alleged smuggling act, officials said.